Hardwood flooring



April '1939. as. HOOVER HARDWOOD FLOORING Fi led March 28, 1938 I J5 J2 fiarksiflaaer Patented Apr. 4, 1939 HARDWOOD FLOORING Charles E. Hoover, Bloomington, 111., assignor of one-half to Otto P. Tiemann and one-half to Elias W. Rolley, Bloomington, Ill.

Application March 28, 1938, Serial No. 198,439

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in hardwood flooring and more particularly to the construction of the strips of hardwood employed in laying the floor.

Flooring of this character may be used to re' surface floors in an old building, or laid over a floor in a new building to produce a finished surface therefor. It is customary to employ strips of hardwood approximately five-sixteenths (l e) of an inch in thickness and approximately two inches in width of varying lengths for this purpose. The production of hardwood flooring strips is a recognized industry as the strips are finished at the mill with a tongue along one longitudinal edge to fit into a groove along the longitudinal edge of the next adjacent strip when laid, and present a smooth even filled, stained, varnished and polished surface over the entire floor.

It is, therefore, necessary that each strip be securely attached to the under floor, and the tongues and grooves engage each other in such a manner as to prevent warping or producing uneven edges where the strips meet. It is also customary to secure the strips by nails driven through the tongued edge so that the nail heads will be covered by the next adjacent grooved edge and provide means upon the grooved edge to engage under the tongue contained therein so that the nails will secure both edges.

While in some mills the tongued edges are drilled to receive and guide the nails when driven through the strip to secure it to the under flooring, there is always the danger if the nail head is tapered, as in the commercial wire nail, it will be driven too far into the edge and split the tongue or edge and, if not driven in sufficiently, the nail head will be engaged by the upper portion of the grooved edge when the lower portion is being wedged under the tongue to split or cause a crack to form along the finished upper surface adjacent the grooved edge.

It is an object of this invention to prevent the danger just described by the formation of the tongue in such a manner as to receive the nail heads and allow the application of the grooved edge thereover without contacting the nail heads.

With these and other objects in view, reference is made to the accompanying sheet of drawings which illustrates a preferred form of this inven tion with the understanding that minor changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the ends of two floor strips constructed in accordance with this invention in the position assumed in a floor that is laid.

Figure 2 is a view partly in vertical, transverse section and partly in elevation of a floor in the course of being surfaced with these improved floor strips.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail view of the contiguous edges as laid in Figure 2. g.

In the embodiment of this invention as illustrated each hardwood floor strip I is provided with an edge 2 formed at right angles to the surfaced top provided with a continuously projecting tongue intermediate the top and bottom and throughout its length, while the opposite edge 3 is formed at right angles to the surfaced top and provided with an under cut groove having an arcuate portion 4 leading from the right angular edge 4 adjacent the top of the strip meeting an angular portion 5 terminating short of the right angular edge 3, or a prolongation thereof, as shown in detail in Figure 3, whereby the cut out edge will receive the tongue on the contiguous strip with the right angular portion of both strips in engagement adjacent the tops of each and the upper surfaces aligned in the same plane by the wedging action of the angular portion 5 being received below and engaging the under side of the tongue upon the other strip.

Heretofore, the tongues on hardwood flooring strips have been formed so as to have tapering upper and lower surfaces 6 and l to engage the under side of the upper portion of the arcuate cut out portion 4 of the grooves and the upper portion ofthe angular portion 5 of the grooved contiguous edge to secure the meeting edges together with their finished surfaces in the same plane in the same manner as shown and described herein, and some tongues have been provided with an angular depression along the upper surface to provide means for the proper location of the nail point.

This invention contemplates providing the continuous tongue projecting from the right angular edge 2 with a continous recess 8 coextensive with the tongue entering the outer surface and extending inwardly thereinto to the body of the strip l behind the right angular edge 2, or in alignment with the prolongation thereof, through the tongue, which recess 8 divides the tongue into two spaced apart portions 9 and I0 forming in effect a split or double tongue. The recess 8 is wider at its outer end than at its bottom in alignment with the edge 2, and its inner surfaces are formed to depart from each other from the bottom 8 so that the portions 9 and [0 are tapered with the lower projection l0 extending approximately twice as far from the edge 2 as the projection 9.

In laying hardwood strips provided with this improved double or split tongue, the nail points are inserted in the recess 8 or split between the projections 9 and I of the double tongue and the nails are driven through only that portion of the top of the projection I0 adjacent the bottom of the recess 8 or edge 2'and through the body of the strip I. If desired, nail holes may be drilled at the mill at the proper place and at the proper angle to secure the edge 2 of the strip.

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the application "of a plurality of these improved hardwood flooring strips I secured upon a sub-floor" l2. Figure3" illustrates an enlarged detail in which awire nail I3 has been driven through the split between the double tongue formed by the recess 8 and through the adjacent body of the strip I. It is here seen that this particular recessing the tongue into the projections! and I lithe tapered enlarged head M of the commercial wire nail I3 is received between" the adjacent tapered surfaces of the spaced apart projections s and H) with the flat end of the head l4 received w'ell Within the normal outer curved surface of the usually formed tongue without the taper of the head l4 departing from the nail body entering the body ,of the projection Hi.

In laying this improved hardwood flooring strip; the nails may be driven home Without danger of splitting or causing a crack to form in the tongue or body of the strip adjacent the tongue and when the grooved edge of the next strip is applied, it may be wedged home against the tongue without the inner upper surface of the groove engaging the head of the nail to prevent the alignment of the upper finished surfaces of the contiguous strips in the same plane or allowing an engagement with the nail head to split or cause a crack to form in the finished surface of the strip thereabove.

What I claim is:

1. A flooring strip provided with two tongues spaced apart from each other and spaced apart from the top and bottom extending beyond. the

rectangular edge on one side of the strip, and a continuous groove, adapted to receive the two tongues o n the'next' adjacent strip, extending into the rectangular edge on the other side of the strip, in which the lower tongue extends beyond the upper tongueto receive the head of a; nail between them out of contact with the wall of the groove in the next adjacent strip.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the top of the upper tongue'forms a wedge connection with the upper wall of saidgroove on the next adjacent strip, and the bottom of the lower tongue forms a wedge connection with said groove when the floor is laid.

CHARLES E. HOOVER. 3O 

